Live Gothic (2 CDS + DVD)

Therion | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 5, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 3
• Label: Nuclear Blast Americ
• ASIN: B0017LWPAO
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #152,700 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Two CD set includes DVD. With the success of 2007's Gothic Kaballah and 2004's Lemuria/Sirius B, Sweden's Therion brought its enchanting and majestic live show throughout the world with stops in the U.S., many successful European festival gigs and a full European tour, including a concert in Poland which was professionally filmed for the Live Gothic. Nuclear Blast presents Live Gothic (2CD+DVD) which was recorded in Warsaw, Poland on February 14, 2007 and it features the touring band of mainman Christofer Johnsson and Kristian Niemann on guitars, Johann Niemann on bass and Petter Karlsson on drums. Live vocals were handled by Snowy Shaw (King Diamond, Mercyful Fate), Mats Leven, Lori Lewis and Katarina Lilja.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Long Live Gothic, August 5, 2008

By 

AMP "Al" (Somewhere on Earth) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Live Gothic (2 CDS + DVD) (Audio CD)

This set includes two CDs and one DVD, all containing live coverage of Therion's latest tours. Half of these songs are new (from the "Gothic Kabbalah" album; they sing all of the good songs from it) and half are old (from various other albums), but all of them are great.

This collection is particuarly good because, as live tracks, there are many variations in the percussion, guitars, and vocals. I think that some songs (like "Der Mitternachtsloewe") sound better here than on from their original albums, due to better vocals or drums. In any case, even though you may have heard these songs before, the live versions are different enough to enjoy anew. Also has an awesome three-minute drum-solo track towards the end of the first disc.

The discs themselves are of very high quality. The CDs sound smashing, and the DVD looks sharp and clear. The filming of the concert is solid, and the band's performance is great to watch. It also has a bonus feature, "Drum Battle in Holland," which is neat. The set also includes a nice booklet with a few good concert photos.

Overall, it is a great set to have for any Therion fan. It may even be good for those who are unfamiliar with the band, since it is such a good compilation.

If this review has not been helpful, feel free to leave a comment and tell me how I can improve.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Almost perfect!, August 20, 2008

By 

IOANNIS FOTIS "john light" (Athens, GREECE) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Live Gothic (2 CDS + DVD) (Audio CD)

I must say that I enjoyed this DVD/2CD live a lot. So let me just say what I did NOT like about it and why I did not give 5 stars:
- First of all, and mostly important, I was expecting a slightly better sound. OK... it is still an amazing production. The vocals (4 singers!!!) sound fabulous and the bass and drums are really POUNDING! But there are many times where the guitars sound rather "weak" and further back in the mix. This lacks the power a metal sound should have. With a little more attention in the guitars, the whole thing would have sounded 10 times better. But maybe this is just my personal opinion.
- SONG TITLES! Come on guys... who designed the back cover of this DVD? Black background with dark grey letters??? Please have mercy... nobody can read a thing there!!!
- The audience was not so warm.
- This is just personal, but I was unpleasantly surprised to see that my favourite Therion song ("Typhon") not included. Pitty!

Other than these, the live is absolutely amazing. Fantastic production and performance by the group. Watching an 8 people band playing their best, and 4 top singers (2 males, 2 females) singing with such art and power... Truly unique!!!
You will enjoy this even if you are not a Therion fan.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars simply amazing, November 25, 2008

By 

Z. M. Ridgway (Waco, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Live Gothic (2 CDS + DVD) (Audio CD)

I have been a fan of Therion's for some time, but was skeptical of buying this album for two reasons: first that it was a live performance, second that all the music from this set has already been released on other albums. I went ahead and bought it - it has rapidly become one of my favorite albums.

-Despite being recorded live, the sound quality is not bad. Not on level with their studio recordings, but quite listenable. The crowd noise never drowns out the music, but the audience participation - shouting and singing along, encouraged by the vocalists - actually adds to the production. The performances are tight - this is a fabulous cast for Therion, and it's impressive that they can perform this virtuosically live.

-All of the songs have been recorded by Therion before, but these are different arrangements of the same music and are very different from the studio recordings. In every case I prefer the instrumentation and singing on the live recording here to the earlier studio one. In particular, "Wine of Aluqah," "Schwarzalbenheim," and "The Falling Stone" are much more powerful in the renditions given here.

The disadvantages to this set are that it does not include the lyrics, and that the track names are difficult to read at all.